An increasing number of countries think that visitors and temporary residents won’t be able to cope once they leave their idyllic setting. I took on the challenge. Idyllic? Ha, certainly not. But, will living in Israel ruin you for any other country in the world? Certainly the answer is YES. Why so, you may ask. … More 30 ways in which living in Israel has ruined you for life
Perhaps some of you need to read this. Perhaps some of you don’t, but I thought that it would be a good idea to share our journey, albeit short so far, but very long as two individuals who really struggled to find the one person that compliments the other and gives us the feeling that … More Can a relationship between a religious Jewish woman and a secular Jewish man work? Are we really different species?
I haven’t posted in a long while. I have been writing more for the drawer rather than for the public. This one I actually wrote around six months ago or more, but didn’t have enough courage to share it. It spent a long time in the drawer too. Fear aside. Courage aside. Here it is. … More “I’m Sorry” To the Woman Inside Me
I think the most reasonable thing to do given the current international climate between Israel and Poland, is perhaps not to prematurely judge, but ask some serious questions. Yesterday I have received messages and phone calls asking for explanation about what exactly is happening in Poland. I am not a politician and I am not an international expert. What I offer is comprehensive understanding of the text, insight into the Polish media, understanding of the Polish and Israeli mentality and a few straightforward questions, which I hope the Polish Government will be ready to answer as part of the international dialogue, before they conclude that the Israeli side is “clearly over-reacting”. … More Who Owns the Holocaust?: On the Israeli-Polish Dispute over the “(Non)-Polish Death Camps”
I kept asking myself about what draws Poles to Israel. I do not mean, of course, pilgrimages to the Holy Land, but rather young people choosing to take time off their lives and move to Israel for a specific time period in order to immerse themselves in culture and meet the community. With 66 thousand … More Experiencing Israel: Non-Jewish Poles in the Holy Land
And here I am, yet again, with my heart in my throat, tears in my eyes, sick in my stomach and a hand over my mouth, reading about a neighbour-to-neighbour slaughter of every Jew (men, women, children) at the hands of not just the Nazis (I’m sorry, all of my history teachers, you have been white-washing the history while indoctrinating us with false patriotism, talking about the Polish pride, golden freedom and your righteous code), but their own neighbours, who took kitchen knives in their hands, entered the houses of their Jewish neighbours and within less than a week slaughtered every single one of them. Five thousand Jews were slaughtered in that pogrom. In that small, tiny village that means absolutely nothing on the map, the representatives of three different nations (German, Polish and Ukrainian) managed to find determination and unfailing strength in their arms to lift their guns and knives at people who were defenseless. Love your neighbour like yourself, the commandment that is central to Christianity, just at it is central to Judaism, didn’t apply here. Chas v’shalom.
I know where to look for the said family now – in Yad vaShem.
I am at war with myself most of the time. On one hand, I grew up in Poland. I had friends there. My family still lives there. My brother studies at the university near the town I am reading about at this very moment and he has friends too. Sometimes I call my Mum to say: “Hey Mum, I’m now in X”. She answers usually: “Oh, that’s next to us”, but she never asks for details. … More Lost For Words: When the Jew in me argues with the Pole
Following [my heart] through pain of separation, routine, solitude and, what I thought, death, I discovered the strangest thing; the stillness of the waters of my heart, which now instead of chasing love, make room for it. … More “Life of Esther”: Journal entry 23 June
“No-one sends birds to flying school so they will be ready to fly when they need to. No-one teaches them the routes on which they need to migrate annually. No-one sends cubs to a school to teach them how to be lions. No-one even sends children to a children school to teach them how to be children. But, somewhere during the course of our lives, doubt comes in, and we think that we have to learn everything in advance otherwise we will never be ready. Consequently we never take a step forward and we are always afraid of making a mistake. Just as the birds, the cubs and the children don’t need a school to teach them how to live, so don’t you. When the time comes, you take the step, even the smallest one, but without thinking how you will handle it later – and you will see how far you can fly”. … More The Art of Non-Waiting
Dear Readers, It’s been a pleasure working with you. This month a series of celebrations took place including birthdays of all sort and kind. What does one think when another year has been added to their lives? One thought actually – absolutely no regrets. We think often that we may have deviated from our target … More Newsletter: April 2017
Sanatorium Dzwonkówka Połoniny St. Szczawnica Pieniny Date: 21st of May 1946 PATIENT HISTORY On 17th of May 1946, Stanisław Rożek was admitted to our sanatorium at the request of his mother, Eva Weiss. The patient presented with a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder combined with psychotic episodes and a suspicion of schizophrenia. The initial … More Stasio
Dear Readers, March is almost over, which means one thing – spring is coming! The month of April is around the corner providing us with countless opportunities to de-hibernate and get involved in all the activities that we planned to get do when we sat in our homes, tucked in and over a mug of a hot beverage. Remember … More Newsletter: March 2017
Nedida 